In this information age, printers have become a nearly indispensable part of life. With these developments, printing has moved well beyond the traditional use of paper as a print media, as printing now extends to many other types of media, such as wood, metal, foam, and many other types of rigid materials. Moreover, numerous types of inks and/or toner are used to achieve different effects on a particular type of media.
Some inks, such as solvent inks, work best upon application of some form of heat while some other inks, such as ultraviolet-curable inks, typically do not require heating. In addition, a preferred heating or drying mechanism suitable for use with solvent inks and/or flexible media may not be helpful when printing on a rigid media and/or when using other inks, such as the ultraviolet-curable inks. In fact, because high quality printing is very dependent upon the type of media, the type of ink, and how the ink is dried or cured, a quite diverse range of printers exists. Accordingly, a conventional printer typically uses just one type of ink, such as a solvent ink. Likewise, in this environment, a conventional printer also would typically use just one type of media, such as a rigid media, while a different conventional printer would employ a different type of media, such as a flexible media arranged in a roll-to-roll configuration.
The significant differences between the many different types of inks and the many different types of media, as well as the different sizes and shapes of media, can result in a business owning many different types of printers—with each different printer dedicated for a different purpose. This seeming duplicity frequently raises maintenance costs, increases training time, increases ink costs, and occupies a lot of space, among other challenges. Accordingly, most businesses and consumers face a daunting task of choosing the right combination of printers and associated equipment to meet their goals.